In January 2020, Kamala Harris became the first ever African American Vice President of the United States. Kamala Harris’ full name is Kamala Devi Harris and she was born in California in 1964. Her father taught at Harvard University and her mother was a cancer researcher. Harris studied economics and political science at Howard University and got her bachelor’s degree in 1986. She then went on to earning her law degree at Hastings College in 1989.
In her early career, Kamala served as a deputy district attorney in California for eight years beginning in 1990. As a deputy district attorney she earned a reputation while she worked on cases that involved sexual abuse, gang violence, and drug trafficking. She then became district attorney in 2004. Harris co wrote a book with Joan O’C. Hamilton, ‘Smart on Crime’, in 2009. And more recently she wrote The Truths We Hold: An American Journey about her journey and the core truths that unite Americans.
In 2010 Kamala Harris became the first woman and the first African-American to be elected district attorney. She was elected as a senator in California in 2016, making her the first African-American woman to be a senator in the United States. Kamala Harris then appeared on the ballot as Joe Biden’s vice president in 2020 and they won the election, making her the first African-American woman to be America’s vice president.
Kamala Harris Quotes
- “He had the audacity to break one of the most substantial barriers that exists in our country and select a woman as his Vice President. But while I may be the first woman in this office, I won’t be the last. Because every little girl watching tonight sees that this is a country of possibilities.” – Kamala Harris
- “Tonight I reflect on their struggle, their determination and the strength of their vision to see what can be unburdened by what has been. And I stand on their shoulders.” – Kamala Harris
- “Imperfect though we may be, I believe we are a great country.” – Kamala Harris, first speech on Senate floor
- “I believe that a child going without an education is a crime.” – Kamala Harris
- “We must dissent from the indifference. We must dissent from the apathy. We must dissent from the fear, the hatred, and the mistrust.” – Kamala Harris, The Truths We Hold: An American Journey
- “I’ve had a lot of titles over my career, and certainly ‘vice president’ will be great. But ‘Momala’ will always be the one that means the most.” – Kamala Harris
- “I will respect any woman who decides that is not the decision she wants to make, that she wants to make a different decision, but we have got to respect women in this country.” – Kamala Harris
- “Our country has sent you a clear message: dream with ambition, lead with conviction and see yourselves in a way that others may not simply because they’ve never seen it before” – Kamala Harris
- “Part of what makes us great are our democratic institutions that protect our fundamental ideals, freedom of religion and the rule of law, protection from discrimination based on national origin, freedom of the press, and a 200 year history as a nation built by immigrants.” – Kamala Harris
- “Doing nothing while the middle class is hurting. That’s not leadership. Loose regulations and lax enforcement. That’s not leadership. That’s abandoning our middle class.” – Kamala Harris
- “A patriot is not someone who condones the conduct of our country whatever it does. It is someone who fights every day for the ideals of the country, whatever it takes.” – Kamala Harris, The Truths We Hold: An American Journey
- “I’m really sick of having to explain my experiences with racism to people for them to understand that it exists.” – Kamala Harris, New York Times
- “Women who fought and sacrificed so much for equality, liberty, and justice for all, including the Black women, who are too often overlooked, but so often prove that they are the backbone of our democracy.” – Kamala Harris
- “Now is when the real work begins, the hard work, the necessary work, the good work, the essential work to save lives and beat this epidemic. To rebuild our economy, so it works For working people.” – Kamala Harris
- “To everyone keeping up the fight, you are doing something, you are the reason I know we are going to bring our country closer to realizing its great promise.” – Kamala Harris, first speech as Democratic vice president nominee
- “These days, children can text on their cell phone all night long, and no one else is seeing that phone. You don’t know who is calling that child.” – Kamala Harris
- “For as long as ours has been a nation of immigrants, we have been a nation that fears immigrants. Fear of the other is woven into the fabric of our American culture, and unscrupulous people in power have exploited that fear in pursuit of political advantage.” – Kamala Harris, The Truths We Hold: An American Journey
- “If we do not lift up women and families, everyone will fall short.” – Kamala Harris
- “Anyone who claims to be a leader must speak like a leader. That means speaking with integrity and truth.” – Kamala Harris
- “To root out systemic racism in our justice system and society. To combat the climate crisis. To unite our country and heal the soul of our nation.” – Kamala Harris
- “We’ll need to work, organize, and vote like never before, because we need more than a victory on November 3rd. We need a mandate that proves that the past few years do not represent who we are or who we aspire to be.” – Kamala Harris
- “With the advent of DNA, we know that people have been convicted and sentenced to death who later proved not to be guilty of the crime.” – Kamala Harris
- “The truth is that the vast majority of Americans are good, fair, and just, and they want their country to reflect those ideals.” – Kamala Harris
- “You never have to ask anyone permission to lead. I want you to remember that, OK? When you want to lead, you lead.” – Kamala Harris
- “America’s democracy is not guaranteed. It is only as strong as our willingness to fight for it. To guard it, and never take it for granted and protecting our democracy takes struggle. It takes sacrifice. But there is joy in it.” – Kamala Harris
- “At every step of the way, I’ve been guided by the words I spoke from the first time I stood in a courtroom.” – Kamala Harris, vice-presidential acceptance speech
- “Everybody will make mistakes, and for some that mistake will rise to the level of being a crime.” – Kamala Harris
- “In the years to come, what matters most is that we see ourselves in one another’s struggles.” – Kamala Harris, The Truths We Hold: An American Journey
- “I often advocate that we look at many sides of an issue, walk in someone else’s shoes, and identify and reject false choices.” – Kamala Harris
- “There will be people who say to you, ‘You are out of your lane,’ they are burdened by only having the capacity to see what has always been instead of what can be. But don’t you let that burden you.” – Kamala Harris, Black Girls Lead Conference (2020)
- “We the people have the power to build a better future.” – Kamala Harris
- “I’ve fought for children, and survivors of sexual assault. I’ve fought against transnational gangs. I took on the biggest banks, and helped take down one of the biggest for-profit colleges. I know a predator when I see one.” – Kamala Harris
- “We need to incorporate that age-old concept of redemption into the work that we do in the criminal justice system in California.” – Kamala Harris
- “The criminal justice system punishes people for their poverty.” – Kamala Harris, The Truths We Hold: An American Journey
- “The time for outrage is now. The time for solidarity is now. The time for action is now. The time For change is now.” – Kamala Harris
- “Our ideals are at stake, and we all have to fight for who we are. We are all, and should be treated as, equals, but the disparity in terms of income and inequality, for women and women of colour, is significant.” – Kamala Harris
- “You marched and organised for equality and justice. For our life and for our planet” – Kamala Harris
- “Mitt Romney subscribes to the cynical logic that says the American dream belongs to some of us but not all of us.” – Kamala Harris
- “But when you can’t sleep at night, how can you dream?” – Kamala Harris, The Truths We Hold: An American Journey
- “Together, united, as one country we can be a force for change.” – Kamala Harris
- “What I want young women and girls to know is: You are powerful and your voice matters, you’re going to walk into many rooms in your life and career where you may be the only one who looks like you or who has had the experiences you’ve had.” – Kamala Harris
- “You voted, you delivered a clear message. You chose hope, unity, decency, science and yes, truth.” – Kamala Harris
- “I have loved to cook since I was a child in my mother’s kitchen. If I don’t have time to cook, I’ll just read a cookbook.” – Kamala Harris
- “Fact, if DACA recipients were deported, it is estimated that the U.S. economy as a whole could lose as much as $460 billion over a decade.” – Kamala Harris, The Truths We Hold: An American Journey
- “Throughout all of the recent events and the emotional roller coaster our country has been on, we cannot lose hope. And in order to have hope, one must first speak truth.” – Kamala Harris
- “You remember that when you are in those rooms, you are not alone. We are all in that room with you applauding you on. Cheering your voice. And just so proud of you. So you use that voice and be strong.” – Kamala Harris
- “I’m thinking about her, and about the generations of women, black women, Asian, white, Latina Native American women who throughout our nation’s history have paved the way for this moment tonight.” – Kamala Harris
- “I want to use my position of leadership to help move along at a faster pace what I believe and know the Obama administration wants to do around the urgency of climate change.” – Kamala Harris
- “Our unity is our strength, and our diversity is our power. We reject the myth of ‘us’ vs. ‘them.’ We are in this together” – Kamala Harris
- “No longer can some wait on the sidelines, hoping for incremental change. In times like this, silence is complicity.” – Kamala Harris
- “My mother would look at me and she’d say, ‘Kamala, you may be the first to do many things, but make sure you are not the last.’” – Kamala Harris, speech at Spelman College (2018)
- “The American dream belongs to all of us.” – Kamala Harris
See also: Barbara Bush Quotes
Kamala Harris Video – Joe Biden and Kamala Harris address the Nation
In this video which was from November 2020, President elect Joe Biden and Vice President Elect Kamala Harris address the nation for the first time. They will begin a 4 year term in January 2021.
Summary
Kamala Harris is an inspiration to women and little girls everywhere. She has opposed bans on same-sex marriages and faught for justice for George Floyd back in May of 2020. She is a motivated woman that stands up for what she believes and she has earned quite the reputation for doing just that.
You may not agree with all of Kamala Harris’ political beliefs, but she is worth being admired. Use these quotes to motivate and inspire a young woman in your life, or even use them for yourself to draw inspiration from.
Image Credit: United States Senate, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
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